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TEXAS TOAST

Folks,

We're back from our Euro tour. We came, we saw, we got up and played twenty-four shows in twenty-five days or something, and we still somehow managed to avoid using the kettle in the room. (Dan Stuart suggests you stay away from those electric room kettles. He claims people boil their underwear in them.)

Sounds pretty serious.

Seriousness aside, the band is playing great and things have been going pretty well. (How well, Chuck?) Well, let me put it this way: if you can afford to have your clothes dry-cleaned, then you're not doing too badly, right? I love dry cleaning. I'd get my socks dry-cleaned if I thought I could.

Even though I'm typing this at 4:00 AM, I am starting to feel like my old self again (whoever that is) after this last run of shows. Haven't had the time to feel homesick. I am sure I will enjoy getting back out there, but there is no homesickness quite as strong as the homesickness when you are still at home but know you are about to leave. But this having your body clock turned around upside down is kind of cool. There have been times where I get so restless I jump out of bed at 4:00 AM. And I've even gone so far as to walk to my office. Which is kind of an experience. I mean, walking through the Tenderloin at 4:30 AM? I recommend it highly.

Meanwhile, The Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins Tour continues. We're headed to Texas this weekend for shows in Houston and Austin. Two nights at the Continental Club in Austin. And dig this: EARLY SHOW AND LATE SHOW ON SATURDAY. We're always excited to play in Austin at our home away from home, the Continental Club. We all dig playing the Continental.

We heart Texas. There's more to Texas than Texas football. Austin is a great place to eat a taco. Come join us. Bring home a rattlesnake bolo tie! Eat some Texas toast. Climb aboard an armadillo! Or better yet go surfing. I'm not kidding. Dig this place: a wave machine in the middle of Texas: http://nlandsurfpark.com

Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins

Master guitarist and accomplished songwriter Chuck Prophet is on top form with this latest collection of reflections and rejections. The pervasive tone of zeitgeist fatigue crystallises in "Post-War Cinematic Dead Man Blues"; but it's there from the start, in the assertive anthem about the potency of cheap music, personified in the mysterious death of Bobby ("I Fought The Law") Fuller in 1966: in the manner of Alex Chilton, Prophet somehow manages to be both wistful and euphoric at once. He's clearly an encyclopaedic master of musical form, piling up influences across these tracks, notably the terse, hypnotic twitch of Alan Vega's space-age rockabilly that drives "In The Mausoleum". But the most effective borrowing applies the "Rockin' In The Free World" riff to the police killing of "Alex Nieto", which draws strength from Prophet's repeatedly returning to the victim's character: "Alex Nieto was a pacifist, a 49ers fan". Powerful and personal, it's a persuasive protest tribute straight from the heart.

"The overall mood is bright, hovering somewhere between the lyrical directness of Jonathan Richman and the West Coast energy of Tom Petty." - Uncut

"Prophet's new album feels like riding shotgun down some mythic highway with a rock true believer." – NPR, First Listen

"Bobby Fuller may have died for your sins, but Chuck Prophet is freakin' god!" - Jim Caligiuri, The Austin Chronicle

"A fresh, full-color take on the darker side of all things Golden State." – NPR, Heavy Rotation

"He's a throwback who believes two guitars, bass, drums and a sense of humor make for great music, and he's right." – Associated Press

"He has recorded over a dozen solo albums that just keep getting better." – NPR, World Cafe

"The music attests to the enduring resilience of rock-and-roll itself." – Philadelphia Inquirer

"Memorable melodies, exuberant playing, detailed lyrics and unflinching honesty...yet another example of not just Prophet's love of rock and roll, but an ability to create it with the spirit and intensity of the best." – American Songwriter

"Prophet's voice has grown richer with time and his melodies sharper." – San Francisco Chronicle

"If you're as moved by music as Chuck Prophet, you'll want to listen to his new album."– KEXP

"He calls this collection of tunes 'California Noir,' and the album delivers on that promise with songs that explore the deteriorating American dream and all its faded glory." – Magnet

"Smart, honest and thoughtful...Prophet has rarely been better as a vocalist, finding the right tone on every track." – AllMusic

"When Chuck Prophet releases a new album, it's never a bad year for rock and roll." – No Depression

"Prophet's Ray Davies-like vocals merge with the blistering chops of the Mission Express to create a rousing, thought-provoking mélange of the highs and lows of society." – Elmore

"Chuck Prophet is a big time rock and roll star in a country that has forgotten that it needs big time rock and roll stars." – PopMatters

"There is morbidity in 'Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins,' but to hear Prophet tell it, it sounds like a blast." – Glide Magazine

"Chuck Prophet continues his creative roll." – The Guardian

"Hovering somewhere between the lyrical directness of Jonathan Richman and the West Coast energy of Tom Petty." – Uncut

"Prophet brings heft, heart, and honesty to songs with dynamic melodies and lyrical depth." – The Daily Country

"A reminder of how potent straightforward melodic pop/rock can be. That is not, in any way, meant to suggest that this is simple music; the themes on Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins are deep." – The Record Collector

"And what if Prophet was Connie Britton? 'My skin would smell like berries,' he sings. Sweet". - The Washington Times